slingshot compstick sentinel vs guardian control bars

[papasmerf]

so i've been using the guardian style for years,,, it's the kind where you sheet in below the bar. it's kind of a pain in the ass sometimes but i like the way i can untwist the bar,,,, however, i am getting new bars and i see the sentinel is like the old version where the sheet in is up high with a cleat. really liked those but,,,, any pros and cons out there someone who has used them both recently? i'm a recreational kiter, 16 years experience. no sliders or unhooked stuff.

[norcom]

Have both. Over ten years ago I couldn't understand why people even used the below the bar cleat systems but after getting used to one, it's now my favorite. Yes, the below the bar swivel is nice but my preference is still below the bar trim. If you really like the above bar trim, why not get it? Both are great bars and I haven't tried anything that beats the Slingshot quality at the sale price point.

What I really want is the Guardian QR similar to how Naish made one with the below the bar trim and swivel.

[papasmerf]

thanks, every now and then, when i kinda overpowered, it's kinda hard to sheet it in,, but maybe i am a weakling now days.

[Greenturtle]

The only advantage I personally find with the gaurdian below bar trim is when riding tandem haha, makes it easy to reach from behind the passenger. Maybe you get a little longer bar throw too which is nice but that may depend on arm length (I have long arms so can use it all)
Otherwise I prefer above bar trim and below bar swivel.

I have a couple slingshot guardian bars and some other brand bars with above bar trim. The quality of slingshot bars/lines/releases is higher, more durable everything.

One weird thing on the guardian system is that the bar can be pulled down directly on top of the QR and if it got stuck there somehow (with the stopper?) it could make it impossible to activate the release. On the sentinel there is the below bar swivel as a barrier leaving always the space needed to activate release.
On that note-
I find it annoying when tether launching with guardian bars and rope slider harness combination, because with anchor leash clipped around ropes above QR it is more difficult to reassemble the QR onto the harness because there is pressure from the kite pulling that wants to keep the release housing down. Its a non-issue if you never use a rope slider style spreader bar in combination with a tethered launch.

Long story short I personally would choose the sentinel if price was the same. That said I have no plans to trade out my guardian bars.

[knotwindy]

Run a small piece of Q line(or any kiteline) through the donkey dick attachment point and hook the tether into that. If you are using just the rope slider you can remove the donkey ‘stick’.

[papasmerf]

it doesn't look like the seninel system has an sliding stopper,,, i've so gotten used to that on my older bars. does anyone know why they left of the sliding stopper

[Baptiste_FR]

The Sentinel Bar has no specific line stopper, but you can slide up or down the all "trim block" and having the same function as the sliding stopper.

I have both Sentinel and Guardian. The sentinel is maybe more user friendly. But I find the guardian more precise while adjusting the trim. Yes, you have to pull harder (push the bar and then trim).

I also noticed that most of Slingshot pro riders use the Guardian (Sam, Karolina, Youri at least). And when Kevin Langeree was riding Naish, he also usually used a below the trim bar. So when available for riders, some of them also prefer this system.

[Wolkster]

I had the gaurdian system for a couple years, it’s pretty bomb proof and simple with nice stopper. I did not like how hard it was to depower from full out position when overpowered it puts a weird angle on you elbow and stresses it
Converted the bars to sentinel system and much Prefer the pull to depower leverage and position, the floppy rope when you pull a lot of depower starts swinging around wrapping up your bar and that kind of sucks the Velcro solution does not work that well.

[Cefirmeza]

I had the gaurdian system for a couple years, it’s pretty bomb proof and simple with nice stopper. I did not like how hard it was to depower from full out position when overpowered it puts a weird angle on you elbow and stresses it
Converted the bars to sentinel system and much Prefer the pull to depower leverage and position, the floppy rope when you pull a lot of depower starts swinging around wrapping up your bar and that kind of sucks the Velcro solution does not work that well.

Have both. Prefer sentinel for sure. I find it easier to depower and untwist lines on swivel right above the CL.
Have also swiched the depower rope on both and also easier with the sentinel.

[pj sofine]

I've only used the guardian,8 years so far. Great bar, lines etc. I don't have an issue "trimming " the kite. I'm not a constant adjuster ! Whatever I do is automatic ,I couldn't even describe my method. The above bar swivel works for about 11 minutes then you have to untwist by hand if you loop more one way than the other ,even with my long arms I have to reach up and pull it so I can grab with 2 hands, then its a race to untwist it as the kite drifts down ! Might be nice to have swivel like the sentinel has. Replaced the trim line last night and that's always an adventure, I forget all the little tricks and the sequence to getting everything back together. I'm also thinking of trying a sentinel, always on the look out for good deal on bars, they're way pricey new.